We often get asked why it’s so important to have a blog. Usually we explain that blogs are a great way to constantly upload content which will keep your website fresh and interesting, and may also help increase your page rank. Sometimes, it can be hard to measure the success of a blog in terms other than web traffic, or your rank on Google. Perhaps the best way to explain how important a blog can be is to use a real-life example in one of the more successful blogs I know. As a life-long Mets fan I often search the web for news articles about the team, in a never-ending quest to stay as informed as possible. One day, I stumbled upon Matt Cerrome’s MetsBlog, and it changed the way I get my news about the team.
MetsBlog was started in 2003 by Matt Cerrone while he was living in Arlington, VA for college as a way of staying in touch with the team. Since he was living outside of the New York media market at this point, Matt found that this was the most effective way to keep up-to-date with the Mets. Although he had a small following in the beginning, Matt continue to write for the blog, and by 2006 had gained a large enough audience that he decided to make the blog his full-time job. By keeping his blog fresh with multiple updates on the Mets daily, and by linking to other sites, Matt turned his blog into an overnight success.
As of 2007, MetsBlog was being read by about 35,000 people every day, totaling about 3.5 million page views a month. It was one of the most popular sport-related blogs on the internet, and others began to take notice. That same year, the Mets’ new network, SNY, partnered with MetsBlog, and made it a part of their network of New York sports blogs. This allowed Matt Cerrone to have access to more in-depth information about the team than ever before.
Matt also began to work on digital projects for SNY.tv, and as a result, was nominated for two New York Emmys in 2008. Since then, Matt has been interviewed by WFAN, ESPN Radio, ESPN News, WNBC, and WPIX, and has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Newsday, and Sports Illustrated, as well as ESPN.com.
Putting sports bias aside, Matt Cerrone’s MetsBlog is a great example of how effective a blog can be. If you create a blog, and keep it updated with interesting updates daily, there’s no telling what could happen.